“Harvey Birdman” Co-Creator Erik Richter on Cartoon Network, Atlanta, Adult Swim, and More

For those tuning in to the Adult Swim O.G. cartoon show, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, you may hear a familiar voice. No, you’re not hearing things—that is late night show host, Stephen Colbert, voicing villains with ray guns or judges with gavels. Colbert, who took part in myriad comedic gigs before landing his major hosting job on CBS, was one of many standout voice actors on Birdman in the show’s history. Birdman, which was perhaps Adult Swim’s most highly produced and slickest of the original block of four, featured the winged former superhero defending his cartoon peers in a court of law. The show led to classic episodes like “The Dabba Don,” in which Fred Flintstone stands trial as a mob boss might. Other episodes feature Scooby-Doo and crew and more 1960s Hanna-Barbera superheroes. We caught up with Birdman co-creator, Erik Richter, to ask him about the show’s early days, how he found himself at Adult Swim, and what he remembers most about Adult Swim founder, Mike Lazzo.

This is the fifth in a running series on Under the Radar celebrating Adult Swim and the airing of its first original block of cartoons: Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sealab 2021, The Brak Show, and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. Watch Adult Swim on HBO Max.